Illum Sphere – ‘Ghosts Of Then And Now’

By
Al HornerFeb 7, 2014

One-time Radiohead collaborator winds together techno, house and hip-hop on impressive return

You may remember Illum Sphere as one of the up-and-coming producers featured on Radiohead’s ‘King Of Limbs’ remix album in 2011 – he added one of his beat-laden, psychedelic washes to their track ‘Codex’. Three years later, he’s still making sure you won’t forget him. ‘Ghosts…’ winds together techno and house, garage and jungle, hip-hop and Brazilian rhythms, reflecting the colourful sonic palette of Illum’s trailblazing Manchester club night Hoya:Hoya, but filtered through a crackling record player instead of a club soundsystem. It’s at its best when it mixes Badu-style soul vocals and booming apocalypse bass (‘The Road’, ‘At Night’), but there’s evidence of a lighter side in the sort of jazzy tribal stompers that Gilles Peterson would approve of (‘Ra_Light’, ‘Near The End’).